THE PLUNKET SYSTEM

Evening Star, Issue 18502, 8 December 1923, Page 8

THE PLUNKET SYSTEM

A TRIBUTE FROM INDIA, Dr Truby King has received tho following letter from the North-west Frontier of India, bearing witness to tho value of tho Blanket system:—• I expect you are inundated with letters from grateful parents, but my excuse for writing to you is that perhaps our experience of your methods in India may interest yon. Our son was born five weeks prematurely in the plains, in the hot weather. Ho is our first child, and was only 5-db at birth. My wife was quite unable to feed him herself, though, since reading your, book, wo believe it was largely due, to mismanagement on the part of the nurse. Tho baby was put on dried milk. His weight chart, which we enclose, will show you more or less what happened for t.ho succeeding two months, lie was three times very ill indeed-* the last time wo nearly lost him. Although wo ourselves were" quite, sure that the dried milk was practically a poison to him, our doctor strongly advised us to persevere, as his own two children had thrived on it, and also lie, was much opposed to making changes in a baby’s diet. Tho child cried incessantly, and "seemed to have chronic pains. At two months he was over 4!b below the. normal weight. Final.lv we decided to follow our own inclinations and bought a cow, and followed your methods given in ‘heeding ana Care of Baby.’ Many people were very scornful of our attempting your system of feeding in India, where conditions are so vastly different from England. We have, however, proved that u, is quite possible to carry out yuiir instructions to the letter. W'e put our boy on to “ humanised milk No. 2.” We have been stationed on he North-west Frontier, where wo get a cold winter. We were able to stand the milk for ‘‘top milk,’’ and when it became to<v hot if) do so, and before ice was obtainable (for about three weeks), my wife had to make the fond twice a day as soon as the cow was milked ; but when ice. came in it was again possible to stand tho milk for top milk, ns we kept the temperature down to 4ddcg F., though the outside temperature was lOodeg F. At seven months ho caught no tho full weight for a normal baby weighing over 7ib at birt h.

Our sun is now a year old, and he lias had no trouble in cutting Ids loetb. Tits weight is 22.11!), his height 2ft 6iin (is not ibis above the average?). He is amazingly active and jolly, sleeps like a, lop, and is the picture of health, lie plays and eats and sleeps in the open air from 8 a.m. to 6.50 p.m., and has wonderfully rosy cheeks. Ife is, we are proud to say, a really very fine child, and greatly admired. He is not so heavy ns several otlmr children of his own age, but is generally considered the “prize baby,” on account of his remarkably healthy look. We know that it is purely because we have followed your instructions implicitly in every detail of food, rest, cleanliness, fresh air, etc. I enclose a snapshot of him taken at nine months. If vmi would care to have any further details as to how we managed humanised milk under the adverse conditions existing in this countiv we shall be only too pleased In let von know. With grateful thanks for the infinite help of your book, and anologies for taking tip your time with this long letter, —) ours sincerely, A.B. (lieutenant-colonel, Indian Arinv).

Dr King points, out that had these not been people of superior intelligence and character they would never have been able to apply his methods in the circumstances, but the letter sugg'is's the value of such a system of “ nursing s ” as is now to he encouraged by the Flunked .Society.